Reverend Parris is in his middle forties. He is a widower and has a daughter named Betty who is ten years old. He is Abigail Williams’ uncle. Parris' function in the play is to bring out the hatred and frenzy in the townspeople. He does not have any real friends in the village of Salem, and cares only about his reputation than the truth.
The character of Reverend Parris represents all the things that are wrong in the Salem community, he tries to win over the town and gain 'respect' from the Salem residents but all this is flawed by his eagerness to push everyone else down in attempt to secure a higher place and stature, gaining land that does not rightfully belong to him and establish a type of authority that he feels he does not have in his place in the church. He tries to become a member of the court during the witch trials, pretending that he is one of the judges by questioning the accused 'witches'. He does this to avoid any suspicion of him and his motives, keeping the court occupied with the people who have been accused by the girls. Parris tries as hard as he can to discredit anyone who tries to go against the court, this is his way of gaining the courts 'respect' and until the court becomes annoyed of his antics, he maintains this act through a vast section of the play.
Parris's repeated demonstrations of selfish behavior don't help his case. In the very first scene, he is standing over his daughter Betty who is sick in bed. At there is a moment of where we feel bad for him. But then there is a realisation that Parris is only worried about his reputation. His ultimate fear is that people in the village are turning against him, and paranoia takes over, Parris assumes that if people think there is witchcraft in his household, he will lose his position as minister of Salem. In Act Three, when he intentionally lies in court telling the judges that he saw no naked dancing in the woods, yet his lies are proven wrong because John Proctor heard him say as much in his home.
Parris's lack of redeemable qualities become even more apparent in Act Four. At first it seems like he may have come to his senses, because he asks Danforth to postpone the hangings. Abigail has taken off, which maintains she was lying the whole time. It turns out that Parris doesn't plead out of remorse at all, rather, he is only concerned for his life. He heard a dagger clank at his front door, and is afraid that if respectable citizens like John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are hanged, the town will revolt against him. Then Authur Miller tells that Parris cries – not because of all the people who he's helped senselessly murder, but because Abigail had stole his money and he is then broke. By the end of the play, Reverend Parris is thoroughly exposed as the despicable person he is. Adjectives:
Selfish
Greedy
Paranoid
Materialistic
Power-hungry
Oddly self-pitying
Self centered
Fearful
Mistrustful
Controlling
Commanding
Demanding
Despicable
Coniving
Gullible
Uncaring
Villainous
Weak
Suspicious
Quotations:
“They’ve come to overthrow the court, sir!”
"It must come out - my enemies will bring it out. Let me know what you done there. Abigail, do you understand that I have many enemies?"
"Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character."
"Tonight when I open my door to leave my house - a dagger clattered to the ground. You cannot hang this sort. There is danger for me. I dare not step outside at night!"
"Now then, in the midst of such disruption, my own household is discovered to be the very center of some obscene practice."
"There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit. Do you understand that?" Actions:
Because of his unpopularity, Parris feels persecuted by many of the citizens of Salem. Reverend Parris often bases his decisions off of his own self-interest, although he camouflages this with a false mask of holiness. An example of this is that he once wanted his church to have gold candle sticks. John Proctor states that the Reverend preached only about the candle sticks until he had finally attained them. In addition to this, John mentions that Salem's previous ministers had never owned property. Parris, on the otherhand, demanded to have the deed of his home. Parris' fears that the residents of Salem might cast him out of the town cause him to desire materialistic items and an official claim to his property.
It is no coincidence that he considered all of the defendants enemies long before they were accused of witchcraft.
He becomes even more pathetic during the play’s resolution. He wishes to save John Proctor from hanging, but only because he worries the town may rise against him and perhaps kill him in retaliation to this. Even after Abigail steals his money and runs away, he never admits to be at fault, making his character even more frustrating. Obstacles:
Parris is most suspicious of people in the town, he is so fearful that people are out to get him that he makes many mistakes along the way of trying to become a type of 'ruler' in Salem's Putitan 'bible- ruled' society. Reverand Parris faces many obstacles, the first of many is the fact that he found the girls dancing naked in the 'devil's woods' and that his own niece Abigail and daughter Betty were at the base of the so called 'bewitching' and compacting with the devil, this assumption was the exact type of attrocity which would ruin his chances of reaching a higher status in the village. Along with this the regarded people of the town who were another wrinkle in Parris' plans, they were highly respected and did not care to listen to a word that Parris had to say, even putting a stopper to going to church because they believed Parris was too involved in purging the devil, and did not speak a word of god and holiness at all.. this is just the start of Parris' worries. Conflicts:
Reverend Parris faces many conflicts right from the start. Small conflicts like quibbling over firewood and insisting on golden candlesticks were presented in the play. One of a major conflict, as shown in the play was when Parris was fighting with Abigail about wanting to know what she and the other girls had done in the forest. He had asked questions to get some answers and established that he only cares about what the town thinks of him.
Another person in the play that he has conflict with is John Proctor. John refuses to come to church on sundays as he does not like the way Parris runs the church. They have different points of view throughout the play and this causes the conflict between them. John Proctor dislikes Parris because he is a paranoid, power hungry, and cowardly figure. His actions in Act One suggest that he only cares about getting a hold of property and money than he does God, and that he is more interested in persecuting others, than admitting he is a bad person.
The last major conflict is at the end when Parris feels threatened when a knife falls from his door as he goes to walk out. Being the paranoid, cowardly man that he is, Parris falls scared for his life, becoming so eluded Parris commands Herrick to let Reverend Hale work to get confessions out of the remaining prisoners who are left. He claims it’s because they’re doing God’s work, but later he lets it slip that his motivation is of self-preservation, as he feels as if there are threats on his life from the revolting townspeople who are angry about John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse being hanged. Motivations:
Pride - His pride for the way he lives, the money he has and attains Revenge - Parris uses revenge on the people of Salem to get them hanged and feel more secure in his position Fear - Fear of being sent out of the village, his paranoia of losing money and stature in Salem was a major motivation Conflict of authority - Danforth felt the law should be followed exactly, and that anyone who opposed the trials was trying to undermine him and his authority and the church, Parris helped Danforth in this and tried to sneak his way into being a member of the court Self interest - Parris was looking out for himself, he does not speak of being a father, he only maintains his position and tries to find others flaws within stating this.
The character of Reverend Parris represents all the things that are wrong in the Salem community, he tries to win over the town and gain 'respect' from the Salem residents but all this is flawed by his eagerness to push everyone else down in attempt to secure a higher place and stature, gaining land that does not rightfully belong to him and establish a type of authority that he feels he does not have in his place in the church. He tries to become a member of the court during the witch trials, pretending that he is one of the judges by questioning the accused 'witches'. He does this to avoid any suspicion of him and his motives, keeping the court occupied with the people who have been accused by the girls. Parris tries as hard as he can to discredit anyone who tries to go against the court, this is his way of gaining the courts 'respect' and until the court becomes annoyed of his antics, he maintains this act through a vast section of the play.
Parris's repeated demonstrations of selfish behavior don't help his case. In the very first scene, he is standing over his daughter Betty who is sick in bed. At there is a moment of where we feel bad for him. But then there is a realisation that Parris is only worried about his reputation. His ultimate fear is that people in the village are turning against him, and paranoia takes over, Parris assumes that if people think there is witchcraft in his household, he will lose his position as minister of Salem. In Act Three, when he intentionally lies in court telling the judges that he saw no naked dancing in the woods, yet his lies are proven wrong because John Proctor heard him say as much in his home.
Parris's lack of redeemable qualities become even more apparent in Act Four. At first it seems like he may have come to his senses, because he asks Danforth to postpone the hangings. Abigail has taken off, which maintains she was lying the whole time. It turns out that Parris doesn't plead out of remorse at all, rather, he is only concerned for his life. He heard a dagger clank at his front door, and is afraid that if respectable citizens like John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse are hanged, the town will revolt against him. Then Authur Miller tells that Parris cries – not because of all the people who he's helped senselessly murder, but because Abigail had stole his money and he is then broke. By the end of the play, Reverend Parris is thoroughly exposed as the despicable person he is.
Adjectives:
Quotations:
“They’ve come to overthrow the court, sir!”
"It must come out - my enemies will bring it out. Let me know what you done there. Abigail, do you understand that I have many enemies?"
"Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character."
"Tonight when I open my door to leave my house - a dagger clattered to the ground. You cannot hang this sort. There is danger for me. I dare not step outside at night!"
"Now then, in the midst of such disruption, my own household is discovered to be the very center of some obscene practice."
"There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit. Do you understand that?"
Actions:
Because of his unpopularity, Parris feels persecuted by many of the citizens of Salem. Reverend Parris often bases his decisions off of his own self-interest, although he camouflages this with a false mask of holiness. An example of this is that he once wanted his church to have gold candle sticks. John Proctor states that the Reverend preached only about the candle sticks until he had finally attained them. In addition to this, John mentions that Salem's previous ministers had never owned property. Parris, on the otherhand, demanded to have the deed of his home. Parris' fears that the residents of Salem might cast him out of the town cause him to desire materialistic items and an official claim to his property.
It is no coincidence that he considered all of the defendants enemies long before they were accused of witchcraft.
He becomes even more pathetic during the play’s resolution. He wishes to save John Proctor from hanging, but only because he worries the town may rise against him and perhaps kill him in retaliation to this. Even after Abigail steals his money and runs away, he never admits to be at fault, making his character even more frustrating.
Obstacles:
Parris is most suspicious of people in the town, he is so fearful that people are out to get him that he makes many mistakes along the way of trying to become a type of 'ruler' in Salem's Putitan 'bible- ruled' society. Reverand Parris faces many obstacles, the first of many is the fact that he found the girls dancing naked in the 'devil's woods' and that his own niece Abigail and daughter Betty were at the base of the so called 'bewitching' and compacting with the devil, this assumption was the exact type of attrocity which would ruin his chances of reaching a higher status in the village. Along with this the regarded people of the town who were another wrinkle in Parris' plans, they were highly respected and did not care to listen to a word that Parris had to say, even putting a stopper to going to church because they believed Parris was too involved in purging the devil, and did not speak a word of god and holiness at all.. this is just the start of Parris' worries.
Conflicts:
Reverend Parris faces many conflicts right from the start. Small conflicts like quibbling over firewood and insisting on golden candlesticks were presented in the play. One of a major conflict, as shown in the play was when Parris was fighting with Abigail about wanting to know what she and the other girls had done in the forest. He had asked questions to get some answers and established that he only cares about what the town thinks of him.
Another person in the play that he has conflict with is John Proctor. John refuses to come to church on sundays as he does not like the way Parris runs the church. They have different points of view throughout the play and this causes the conflict between them. John Proctor dislikes Parris because he is a paranoid, power hungry, and cowardly figure. His actions in Act One suggest that he only cares about getting a hold of property and money than he does God, and that he is more interested in persecuting others, than admitting he is a bad person.
The last major conflict is at the end when Parris feels threatened when a knife falls from his door as he goes to walk out. Being the paranoid, cowardly man that he is, Parris falls scared for his life, becoming so eluded Parris commands Herrick to let Reverend Hale work to get confessions out of the remaining prisoners who are left. He claims it’s because they’re doing God’s work, but later he lets it slip that his motivation is of self-preservation, as he feels as if there are threats on his life from the revolting townspeople who are angry about John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse being hanged.
Motivations:
Pride - His pride for the way he lives, the money he has and attains
Revenge - Parris uses revenge on the people of Salem to get them hanged and feel more secure in his position
Fear - Fear of being sent out of the village, his paranoia of losing money and stature in Salem was a major motivation
Conflict of authority - Danforth felt the law should be followed exactly, and that anyone who opposed the trials was trying to undermine him and his authority and the church, Parris helped Danforth in this and tried to sneak his way into being a member of the court
Self interest - Parris was looking out for himself, he does not speak of being a father, he only maintains his position and tries to find others flaws within stating this.